‘NCIS’ Finale Bombshell: Who Quits the Team?

The “NCIS” finale turned out to be a shocker. Tony (Michael Weatherly), Ziva (Cote de Pablo) and McGee (Sean Murray) resigned, laying their badges down on Vance’s desk, and four months later, Gibbs (Mark Harmon) is on a mission that finds him pointing his sniper rifle at Senior FBI Agent T.C. Fornell (Joe Spano). We are left with the question: Is Fornell the target? Or is it someone he is guarding?

Despite the fact that Fornell and Gibbs were married to the same woman, they have overcome their differences and have actually worked together — not something that is easy for Gibbs to do — so it is hard to imagine Gibbs taking down someone he is friendly with.

But then this case has turned out not to be what it appeared it to be. It is revealed that Ilan Bodnar (Oded Fehr) did not kill Arash Kazmi (Nasser Faris), head of the Iranian intelligence bureau, but that the CIA used the death of Eli David (Michael Nouri) to assassinate Kazmi, wanting Iran to think that the Mossad had done so.

Former NCIS Director Thomas Morrow (Alan Dale), who now is at Homeland tells Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll), “I’m telling you we did it, Leon, so Iran and Israel could duke it out while we can focus on the real threat. We’re all so worried about Iran and North Korea when the real threat is here on home soil.”

But before all that went down, Gibbs’ team initially thought that if they got the dirt on Department of Defense Investigator Richard Parsons (Colin Hanks) — who it turns out had blackmailed his way up the ladder — that they could turn the tables on him by using what they found with the help of a woman named Delilah and force him into backing off. But Gibbs turned down their offer and sent them out to deal with a case — the severed head of a Navy SEAL. Surprise! Surprise! It turned out that the head is connected to the death of Eli David and the Bodnar case. But we have to wait for next season to find out how.

Then, Gibbs is given the opportunity to get a clean slate if he will take on a mission — keep in mind that his original training was as a sniper — and one of the things that Parsons is investigating him for was the shooting of the Mexican drug lord, who Gibbs held responsible for the death of his wife and daughter. Later on, we see Vance feed the file regarding that case into the paper shredder.

Along the way in the season finale, there are some really great moments. At Gibbs’ cabin in the woods, where they have been pow-wowing to avoid listening devices, Ziva apologizes to Tony for how she has been treating him, saying, “I am sorry if I hurt you. It was never intended. I care too much about our friendship. I don’t want it to be awkward between us.”

Tony kisses her tenderly on the forehead, saying it couldn’t be awkward between them. The moment moves their relationship along further than it has been, but it still keeps it within the bounds of propriety, so they can still work together.

Another great reveal is the fact that Delilah is a woman that McGee has been seeing. Those who are jaded may think he hooked up with her just to get the goods on Parsons, but in an interview with EW, “NCIS” executive producer Gary Glasberg says, “The lovely Delilah. That will likely pay off at some point as well. We may even meet Delilah.” So it looks as if McGee may have a girlfriend.

There is also the disclosure that Jimmy Palmer (Brian Dietzen) and his wife plan to adopt a baby, but the highpoint is when Vance, Morrow and Rear Admiral AJ Chegwidden (John M. Jackson) confront Parsons and tell him that the Inspector General has postponed the investigation, effectively immediately.

Parsons protests that he has thousands of documents ready to go to prosecute the case, but Vance tells him that Gibbs’ team has resigned, taking full responsibility for what went down.

Parsons, like a petulant child, says, “Is Agent Gibbs so valuable you would allow this to happen?”

And we cut to Gibbs with the sniper rifle and Fornell in its sights. To be continued when Season 11 premieres this fall….